Home Invoice 81: Adjustments To The Ohio Staff’ Compensation Regulation – Employment and HR

Benesch Friedländer Coplan & Aronoff

United States:

House Bill 81: Amendments to the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Law

December 10, 2020

Benesch Friedländer Coplan & Aronoff

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Ohio HB 81, which went into effect September 15, 2020, makes some notable changes to Ohio Employee Compensation Act. The stated intent of the new law was to provide workers’ compensation coverage for prison staff. However, the new bill contains several changes that could benefit all employers in Ohio.

First, HB 81 codifies the doctrine of voluntary surrender in relation to temporary compensation for total disability. Under the new law, “an employee is not entitled to compensation if an employee is not working or has lost wages as a direct result of reasons unrelated to the permissible injury or occupational disease.” In short, when the employee is unable to work due to factors unrelated to the injury, such as: For example, if the employee is dismissed for poor attendance unrelated to a replaceable injury, the employee cannot receive temporary compensation for total disability. As HB 81 supersedes all previous court decisions regarding voluntary abandonment, several court-created exceptions to the voluntary abandonment doctrine are eliminated. The new voluntary demolition defense applies to claims that are pending on September 15, 2020 or arise after September 15, 2020.

Second, HB 81 shortens the statute of limitations for requests for additional bonuses for breaches of certain safety requirements (“VSSR”) from two years to one year from the date of the recoverable breach. The shortened one-year statute of limitations aligns VSSRs with the relatively new one-year statute of limitations for filing an employee compensation claim. The one-year limitation period for VSSR applies to all claims that are pending on September 15, 2020 and arise after September 15, 2020.

Thirdly, HB 81 also shortens the period of time in which a claim remains open. Under the new law, the Industry Commission can invoke its continued jurisdiction for five years from the last medical service provided or the date of the last compensation payment. Previously, the Industry Commission could invoke its continuing responsibility for the five years from the last payment date for medical services. In essence, the length of jurisdiction could be reduced by a month or two.

Finally, HB 81 allows the settlement application of an applicant to be processed without the consent of the state-funded employer if (1) the application is no longer based on the employer’s experience and (2) the injured employee is no longer employed by the employer.

The content of this article is intended to provide general guidance on the subject. You should seek advice from a professional about your particular circumstances.

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